


Stay Together?

by Way_too_involved



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adoption, Allura and Lance are Cousins, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Asexual Keith (Voltron), But not to Lance or any other voltron character, Confronation, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Depression, Eating Disorders, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gay Shiro (Voltron), Grey's Anatomy References, Hospitals, Hurt, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Japanese Shiro (Voltron), Korean Keith (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Misunderstandings, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), There Will Be More Angst As The Story Goes On, shangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-22 16:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14312679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Way_too_involved/pseuds/Way_too_involved
Summary: Lance and Shiro.Shiro and Lance.The power couple. The Relationship Goals everyone wants to be in.One Facebook Post will ruin all of that, but there is more play than what meets the eye.





	1. How He Found Out

He didn’t really see it coming before it happened. You would have people who would be like “You should’ve noticed” or “There were obvious signs.” And finally “He had started to act different.”

He would tell you later that he should’ve seen it coming. That really, there had been signs. But he really was blinded by how perfect everything was for him at that moment.

They had talked about moving in together for quite some time now, and Lance would not have denied how excited he was for it to actually become a reality.

Lance was sitting at his desk, checking and double checking an assignment on Cardiopulmonary Conditions that was due in the next couple hours, he needed it to be perfect. He was half way through the third double check, when his phone buzzed.

 **Hunk-Bear**.

Hunk was studying Prosthetics and Orthotics in Germany on a scholarship, which he had been granted after he presented the university board with a new prosthetic model. Hunk worked with machines with the skills of a professional, since the tender age of seven. He got the inspiration after his father was honourably discharged from the war after he lost his leg. So, sixteen year old Hunk dedicated all his time into making the perfect model for his father. And he did. It took 2 years of his life and he would tell you any day that it was worth every second. Hearing from him wasn’t a big of deal. They still kept in touch to share with each other the big moments in their studies/lives.

Lance smiled as he answered his best friend’s call.

“Hey, Hunk!” Lance’s cheerfulness deflated when he heard Hunk on the other side of the call take a sharp breath. “What’s wrong, buddy? Are you okay?” Lance started to get worried, Hunk hadn’t said a single word yet, which was unlike him.

“Hunk. My man. Why are you quiet? You called me, you know.”

“Are you still dating Shiro?”

“Yeah, Why?” Lance said, confused. “You’d be the first to know if something happened between us.”

“Did you make a Facebook account yet?” Okay he didn’t really expect that.

“No. I told you, tumblr is enough for me.”

“Open mine and go to Shiro’s page, now.” Hunk said, voice laced with a sense of unusual anger. “Please keep the line connected.”

Lance quickly opened another tab on his laptop and went to Facebook. He typed in Hunk’s username and password and searched for Takashi Shirogane. He smiled as his display picture poped up.

“Done. Now what?” Lance asked urgently.

“Go through his wall.”

He started scrolling down, until he saw it.

Takashi Shirogane Changed His Facebook Status To ‘Engaged’.

“Damn Hunk. Did you just ruin my marriage proposal?” Lance said jokingly.

“Read the comments.”

Lance clicked on comments and started going through them quickly. Hundreds of people were congratulating him about ‘finally tying the knot’.

 _That’s weird._ Lance thought _. This must be a prank. But of it is, then why were his uncles and other family members congratulating him? When was this even posted?_

He scrolled back up and froze. 1 week ago. A week ago? How was that possible? He told Lance he had finals, and that he wouldn’t be able to join him for their anniversary due to schedule issues.

“Lance?”

“Is this a joke?” Lance’s voice was small to his own ears.

“I am afraid not. I called Pidge and she said that she thought it was you… Apparently it’s someone called Keith Kogane. He’s a childhood friend. I am so sorry, Lance.” As hunk said that, Lance’s blood ran cold. So this is real.

“I have to go. I need some time to think.” And he hung up.

* * *

 

How could he not have seen this coming? The fact that this happened a week ago and that it was a childhood friend, sent shivers down his spine. Had he meant ANYTHING to him? Anything at all? Was he so easily disposable that he changed his fucking Facebook status and made it public before even confronting him?

He got his keys and got into his car.

The road to Shiro’s apartment was engraved into Lance’s mind due to the countless times he went over, as well as the fact that it was only 15 minutes away from his own apartment. He remembered all the times he would walk over to Shiro’s at early morning hours, due to his lack of sleep, with self-deprecating thoughts plaguing his mind. Shiro would open the door, wearing only sweat pants, his eyes would widen as he takes in Lance’s red rimmed eyes, holds his arms open and Lance would run and just embrace his boyfriend, taking in all the love he would offer.

 _I was so stupid_. Lance thought, as he wiped away stray tears. He wasn’t sad as much as he was angry.

As he pulled over to the building’s driveway, he saw that his bedroom lights were on and the silhouette of an obvious-Shiro hugs another silhouette of the now-identifiable-Keith. He leaves the car, keeping the keys in the engine as as he decides this will be a short visit and starts taking two steps at a time up the stairs. The minute he reaches Shiro’s door his anger had subsided, but quickly reignites as Keith opens the door. But he could then see it. He was beautiful. More beautiful than anything Lance could possibly try to achieve, with his dark black hair and violet eyes.

Keith stares back at him in confusion.

“Can I help you?” He asks suspiciously.

Lance doesn’t blame him; he would have had the same reaction if there was a twenty year old sweaty man wearing Star Wars PJs standing at his door at 10 at night.

“Keith! Is it the delivery guy?” And just like that, all logic flew out the window. “There is some spare change in the drawer next to the door if you don’t have enough money for the-“

The minute Shiro sees Lance; his whole being goes ten shades paler. He really didn’t expect Lance to be at his door this late looking like that, especially considering he told him he had a final which was something Lance would usually always respect, as he knew the struggle himself.

“Lance. It’s not what it looks like.” Shiro said, raising both his arms as if to surrender.

“Not what it looks like?” Lance said coolly, looking directly into Shiro’s grey eyes. He made up his mind to deliver this as clear as he could physically muster. For once, he was going to stand up for himself. He was done feeling sorry for himself. “Then tell me, Shiro. Is that not Keith Kogane? Your childhood friend, who you have been dating behind my back, and who is now your fiancé? The same one you made that Facebook status about? Tell me, Is it still not what it looks like? I thought we would always stay together. You promised me.

“But I guess you lied, huh. Man you really had me fooled and all those talks about us moving in together and whatnot. Wow, It all meant nothing to you. Just another way to shut me up and not make me suspicious about you cheating. Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you so relieved that I didn’t have an account, that I was never going to found out?”

Shiro and Lance stared at each other for what felt like forever. The minute Shiro opened his mouth to say something, Lance turned around and left. He will never allow anyone make a fool out of him ever again. He got into his car and sped away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This particular chapter is loosely based on true events.


	2. Why It Happened

Shiro has been staring at the empty spot where Lance stood for the past 15 minutes. Neither Shiro nor Keith moved a muscle. They have been dreading this moment ever since that post was made. The story was so much more complicated than it seemed so they just thought that Lance not having an account would’ve postponed the confrontation till the paperwork was done.

But Shiro fucked up by not taking Hunk and Pidge into account.They were the only possible way Lance could’ve found out, and he knew that if it came down to him or Lance, they would choose Lance in a heartbeat.

Lance had that effect on people.

He was so social and loving and relatable that Shiro had always thought he was so out of his league that it shocked him to that day that Lance was even his. They even considered moving in together but after the whole thing with Keith started a couple of months ago, he’s been putting it off by making lame excuses that Lance never doubted as he had trust in him.

Trust that, he now realized, he never deserved in the first place and would never get back.

Keith turned to Shiro. He walked closer with his hand stretched out in attempt to comfort him but Shiro didn’t seem to notice anything but himself. He opened his mouth to say something when the phone rang, which seemed to break Shiro out of his thoughts as he turned to phone and now gave it his full attention. Keith walked over and picked up the phone. A very familiar voice greeted him.

“Good evening boys!”

Alfor was their lawyer; he has been working on their case by devoting all his free time into looking for loopholes that might help them. And he did! **That post was the loophole.**

* * *

 

Keith and Shiro didn’t start with an easy life. They never advertised it though, so only a remote few knew of their hardships.

They grew up at Altea Orphanage.

Keith’s mother died when he was 7 years old, which lead to his father leaving him soon after setting him up for adoption. He couldn’t raise Keith without his mother. So his father ran away and gave his only son up just to not live with the reminder that the love of his life was forever gone. And for a long time, Keith despised him for what he did, but he grew to understand. And with how his life turned out, he came to accept it.

Shiro, on the other hand, saw war at a very young age. After his small town was invaded, both his parents died protecting Shiro. And as he was an immigrant, he didn’t have any family in the States to take him in. He was set up for adoption by child services to Altea Orphanage meeting Keith a year later and proclaiming him his best friend for life.

They did everything together. They shared everything with each other, whether it being a bunk bed or toys or secrets.

Whoever saw them from a far would assume they were a thing or would end up a thing. But that was never their case.

Living in an orphanage was tough. They had high rush and the inevitable disappointment of meeting potential parents that would reject them always setting them on an edge that never became familiar no matter what. Yet they got over it together.

When Keith was about 14, and Shiro 16, a 5 year old boy was found. His name was Darren. That was all they really knew about him as he was young and abandoned. The duo took the young boy under their wing, deciding to shield him for the horror that is being in the foster care system.

But they couldn’t shield him forever.

6 months later, Darren was adopted by a couple.

And at first it was all perfect. They would send him pictures every week so he never forgets what they looked like.

He stayed with that couple before he showed up back at the orphanage, four months later. He was sporting a black eye and a broken arm. He wouldn’t speak for days. The silence finally got too much and he told them what happened.

The wife turned out to be cheating on the husband. As revenge, the husband drank himself to the bone and rampaged around the house breaking everything the wife held dear. Little Darren tried to stop him from hurting the wife as he really loved her, in the process getting hit. Repeatedly. The husband let his anger out on Darren. The wife called the police, getting the husband arrested and Darren back at the orphanage.

And this was only the first house. It seemed to happen every house he was assigned to.

Keith and Shiro’s hearts broke every time Darren would come back, until they reached a point where they would go against anyone trying to adopt him. But that never worked and it happened again and again.

Eventually Keith was adopted by the Koganes and Shiro out-aged the system, reaching 18 and getting a scholarship to a well-known university in California.

**_But they never forgot about Darren._ **

Keith went into Law school to help fix the corrupted foster system he lived through his entire childhood and Shiro followed his dream into Medicine. Where he met Lance.

5 Years later, Keith got a hold of Shiro and told him of a plan he had been working on for a while that might involve him if it got too out of hand.

Keith planned to adopt Darren, who was almost 10 and was still going through shit back at the orphanage. Shiro agreed without missing a beat.

But his predictions were right. Things did get out of hand. Keith alone wasn’t deemed fit or stable enough to raise a child, so they had to fix that. His lawyer suggested they stage a marriage, and since Shiro and Keith grew up together, it would be easier to fake.

Shiro told Keith about Lance and how he couldn’t break his amazing boyfriend’s heart and that he had to deny this plan but would agree to anything else.

A couple of weeks later, they get a call from the orphanage that Darren was in the hospital and was in critical condition. This eventually swayed Shiro into saying yes.

He knew Lance would understand but whenever he wanted to tell him, Lance would get excited about something and Shiro would forget as Lance tends to be that distracting but he would always remember at the most inconvenient times making him act weird due to his shame of hiding something like this from Lance.

Their lawyer told them they had to make it public so they could get witnesses that would testify on their behalf to make it believable. So they made the post and true to his words, his distant family members, that he never met before, along with their old friends from school and the orphanage called to congratulate them and say that they always knew they would eventually end up together. It left a sour taste in Shiro’s mouth every time he would answer the phone and talk about his fake relationship.

But they got their witnesses so that was something to sweeten the sourness.

Sadly the whole court ordeal was taking way too long for their liking.

Which was made worse with Lance finding out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really want Shiro to turn out as the bad guy... besides, this is based on true events done by my ex. So it was hard coming up with an explanation as i didn't get one.
> 
> There will be more; as i would like to focus on how Shiro makes it up to Lance and how they move on with their relationship. (There will be so much more angst to come)
> 
> Kudos and comments are so deeply appreciated as well as any ideas that you like to share.


	3. Lance's Reaction

Lance drove. He drove and drove and drove.

He needed to get away from anything that was touched by Shiro, which sadly included everything he was familiar with. Fake security and empty promises dug roots deep within Lance, holding his heart in a bruising grip that he was sure if this was physical, he would have died.

Was he cursed?

Growing up the middle child in a household with 5 children was the worst situation in his circumstance. He was always forgotten, whether it be his birthday or his forehead kiss or his parents checking up on him at the dinner table as everyone else seemed to have much more important stories to share than Lance’s.

 _Not enough_.

_Lost._

_Unwanted._

Intrusive thoughts that he left behind, come back. They make him doubt himself and spiral into a disastrous road that takes too long to come back from.

And Shiro knew all this. Going back to the sense of fake security he embedded in Lance after he told him of his past. The anti-depressants, the therapy sessions and how that no matter how much he tried to think otherwise, he still felt hollow and useless. That no one would look at him the way Shiro looks… _looked_ at him. Who would ever? _He was only Lance_.

Too Loud and obnoxious that his own parents avoided him; he left them back in Cuba and came to the US to study Medicine and specialise in Psychiatry. He wanted to know how the mind worked and how to fix what was broken in him and in all the others around him, the many other forgotten kids with Depression and Anxiety.

He was doing great until he met Shiro.

It was a basic love story, as Lance puts it to anyone that asks. Boy meets boy at a coffee shop, they bump into each other, one apologizes while the other says it’s okay but accepts the offer to buy the apology cup of coffee. They sit and talk for hours, one of them actually misses a lecture but neither of them seemed to care at the moment. It was perfect. And now that lance thinks of it. It was too perfect. Because who the hell would willingly ask to get to know Lance.

By this point, he could barely see what’s outside the car as his tears were blurring out his vision adding to the visual impairment from the already dark time. He parked at the side of the road, got out and sat next to the car in the dark, freezing his ass off in his Star Wars PJs, holding his knees and crying his broken heart out.

He couldn’t tell how long he just sat there, but by the time he calmed down he noticed that he had migrated to Blue’s backseat, locked the doors and was just staring blankly at nothing in particular. He felt completely absolutely numb.

_“Why do I always third wheel with you guys?”_

_Allura’s white platinum hair was tied up in a messy bun by a black hair tie, pulling it off with the style of a Coachella Hipster but without all the… everything else. Her British accent publicizing the fact that she wasn’t from around here but not the fact that she was actually Cuban. No one really believed them when they said they were cousins, because how could someone like Allura be related to someone like Lance. The only thing they had in common was their last names and dark skin. Allura was specializing in political science and minoring in English literature. Meaning she had a way with words, adding that to her British accent and she could convince anyone that the sky was purple if she wants to._

_Whenever she drops by for a visit, Shiro and Lance would take her around, even though she knows California by heart now. It was tradition. Have a light lunch, go to the beach for a couple of hours until after the sunset then dinner and then back to Lance’s place. She would always sleep at Lance’s as he lived alone and moved out of dorms after a traumatising incident that he hates to even think about._

_“Because you love seeing Shiro shirtless on the beach?” Lance teased._

_“Not even gonna argue there because true that.” Allura preached. “How the hell did you find such a specimen?”_

_“I ask myself that every day.” Lance smiled sadly. Allura must’ve noticed the shift in Lance’s tone as he said that._

_“But he is one lucky son a bitch.” She looked at Lance and smiled fondly. It was the kind of smile that Lance always craved from his mother but was never acknowledged enough to receive it. “You love deeply, Leondro. Shiro would never find someone like you.”_

_Lance stared at Allura trying to process what she said. He couldn’t wrap his head around someone being lucky to have him. It seemed like such a mindboggling concept._

_“You mean to tell me that Once you go Lance you can’t go back?” he attempted to lighten up the subject._

_Allura groaned. “You are supposed to rhyme something with **back**. You are killing this English Lit student, McClain.”_

_Shiro joined them not long after, it got too cold for him to continue surfing anyways._

_He had one rule about the beach **.**_

**If he made it to the shore, he better surf or God help everyone he will be grumpy and ruin everyone’s plans for the day** _._

_Lance didn’t take him seriously the first few times, but after Shiro ruined the ending of Rogue One while sitting next to him in the cinema, Lance learned his lesson to not drop by the beach if he couldn’t afford the time for Shiro to surf._

_That day was such a beautiful day. One lance dreamed of telling his kids one day, the blend of family and love and pure friendship all into one._

_But now, he thinks back of that day on the beach and all he could think of was how wrong Allura was._

A knock on the window broke Lance of his trance, a police officer with a crazy orange moustache held a flash light to his face in attempt to hurry Lance out of the car.

His shaking hands went for the door handle and opened it ever so slowly. He was suddenly so drained of everything that black spots seemed to dance in front of him.

“You okay there, boy?”

The officer’s chipper voice intensified Lance’s headache. A headache he was sure was not there before he left his house. What was happening to him?

“Yeah, officer.” lance hesitated unintentionally. “I will get off the side of the road right away, sir.”

He walked up to the driver’s seat to get in when a hand touched his shoulder grabbing his attention. He looked at the officer in a questioning look.

“Kid. I can’t let you drive like this.”

“I swear I am not drunk. I just needed a breather from my apartment.” Lance internally flinched at his small voice. When did he get so pathetic?

“I know you are not drunk. You are not emotionally stable to drive. So, how about I drive you back home and I get you tomorrow to get your car back?”

His lower lip quivered as tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn’t understand why the officer was being so nice.

“You are clearly upset about something.” He said as if he read Lance’s mind. “And the fact that it got you out here on the side of the road in the middle of the night, in your PJs might I also add, means that you are having a very hard time. My name is Coran Smyth and the least I can do is take you home.”

Tears started going down Lance’s face with every word the officer, Coran, said. He threw himself onto the officer and cried. He cried for his stupidity. He cried for his loss. And he cried for the broken heart that seemed to Lance might never recover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took too long for the update & i am so sorry this is so short.  
> I am going through finals rn and will be done next week and then i promise u guys a chapter and a regular update schedule.


	4. Coran

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly i am not a Spanish speaker (tho i am learning it) and i was NOT going to use google translate bcz i know they fuck things up. English is not my first language and i saw first hand what it does in translation. So i decided on the italics being taken as Spanish :)

Lance sat silently in the backseat of the officer’s police car. He couldn’t think of the last time he cried this hard for anything. Not even leaving his parents back in Cuba to move to the US caused him to cry this much. He’s been doing himself good here, all with his courses and afterschool part time jobs to save up some money and… well… Shiro.

Until now.

Coran pulled up into a 24hrs Macdonald’s drive thru, ordered them both a Big Mac and two Mcflurries and stopped just outside Lance’s apartment building.

“How did you know where to go?” Lance whispered.

“I checked your car’s GPS for ‘home’ and it lead me here.” Coran chipper voice warmed Lance’s heart. “Is this not the right place?”

“It is.” And that was that. He didn’t ask to go upstairs. He didn’t demand to know what happened. He just sat in silence waiting for Lance to do something first.

“I’m okay with going up now.” Lance settled. “But I don’t want to be alone. I don’t know what might do.” He didn’t know why he said that to a stranger, let alone a police officer.

“My patrol ends in 10 minutes anyways. How about we share this meal and I leave you be?”

Lance didn’t know what it was about this man that warmed his heart. Whether it was his fiery orange hair or his crazy moustache or the fact that he knew exactly what Lance wanted with only the few words spoken between them. But Lance trusted this man with his life and would risk his own for him. The world needed more men like him running around.

“Okay”

They sat in his living room, which also served as his bedroom and opened to his kitchen as this was a studio apartment, ate and spoke about nothing and everything.

He learned that Coran fell in love with his partner for 3 years before confessing and that they lived happily married for 7 years before he lost his life by getting shot by a school shooter in an attempt to save a young student’s life. He won and lost at the same time. Coran now lives with the outcome. He doesn’t hate Blaytz for his heroism and only wishes to live a life that would make him proud. This was the reason Coran knows what to do with Lance as he was in his shoes for a long time after that school shooting and this was merely what he wished people had done to him.

Lance listened closely noticing that Coran shamelessly had shed a few tears for his lost love. The difference was painfully clear between their heartbreaks. His was for what he lost and what could’ve been, for the family they could’ve built. Coran knew 100% that Blaytz was his and his alone. He had 7 years of marriage to back it up. He knew he could never compare. He could only hope for this kind of Love to ever be directed towards him.

“So you are studying medicine?” Coran asked, while eating a fry. “That's pretty cool yet kind of hard, you must really want this.”

“I do.” Lance smiled. He really did. “It was what I wanted ever since I was a kid. I want to help save people’s lives. Kids specifically.”

“Why not join the police force then, it could use a lot of people like you, my boy?”

“No offence but I never really had the best relationship with cops.” Lance confided. “They tend to discriminate against people who look like me. And I had a few run-ins and it just ruined the idea in my head. Besides I am more of a study the books kind of guy. Anything that has to do with the human body and the brain, interests me.”

“I am so sorry, Lance. You should never have gone through any type of discrimination.”

“It’s okay. I both got used to it and understood it. It bothers me but there is not much I could do.”

Lance was amused at how heartbroken Coran actually seemed, not many people were. They usually would tell him to get over it or that they were just doing their jobs eliminating any possible threats. No matter what they looked like, whether it be a 14 year old or a 20 something year old just walking home.

“So what are you planning on specializing in?”

Lance stayed quiet for a second. He was kind of scared of answering this question, the reactions he usually got for were always either too amused too negative.

“Psychiatry.”

“Oh! That’s nice. Any particular reason as to why?” And it might have been the warm why he asked or the normal genuine way that showed he was actually interested in the answer but Lance told him everything.

After about an hour, Coran excused himself to leave.

“Don’t go to your classes tomorrow. You need a You Day. Take care of yourself, no one else will do it better than you. And if you need a medical permission slip for skipping class, tell me I can get it for you.”

“You have done more than enough and besides, I never skipped class before, I think I can afford once.”

“I am asking for if you need it again. You seem like a smart kid who won’t take my offer for granted so call whenever.” He winked for effect. “I’ll have someone send you your car back if you give me the keys for it.”

Lance handed Coran the keys and wished him good luck and farewell before giving him his number for future needs. He turned back to his apartment which suddenly seemed much too big for only him. He usually would call to see what Shiro was doing in the morning so they could get breakfast and coffee together but that was definitely not happening anytime soon, if not ever again.

He walked back to bed and lay down on his dark blue duvet. He decided against replaying the events of the night as they would make him feel worse and more alone, instead he opened his Kindle and read a few chapters before sleep overtook him plunging him into darkness.

* * *

 

He woke up to the sound of instrumentals that he set as a ringtone specifically for his too pure for this world best friend.

_HunkBear_

Damn. The last time Hunk called he delivered a bomb. He obviously doesn’t hold it against Hunk but he really doesn’t want to talk to anyone if he could help it. So he declined the call.

His phone rang again but with a different ringtone this time.

_AlienWarHeadPrincess_

Okay now Lance got the picture of what happened. Hunk told Allura. He was so getting a lecture if he even dreamt of declining her call.

_“Hey”_

When talking to Allura, she loves it when he speaks to her in Spanish, she says it helps her keep the language alive within her brain as she doesn’t hear much of it in the UK.

_“Is it true what I heard?”_

_“Good morning to you too.”_

_“Lance.”_

_“Yeah… hunk told you, huh?”_

_“Of course he did. That kid has me on speed dial for all things Lance.”_

_“I am so having his ass for this.”_

The best thing about speaking in your native tongue is the emotion. You know the exact words you could use for everything along with the right emotions. Lance noticed that a lot of his emotions tend to be obscured while using English.

“ _Are you okay?”_ she whispered.

 _“Why wouldn’t I be?”_ The crack in his voice betrayed his words.

_“Lance how ignorant do you think I am?”_

_“Just… I really don’t want to talk about this right now. It just happened, but believe me when I tell you I won’t do anything bad. I promise.”_

_“Did you sleep?”_

_“No…”_

_“Where were you?”_ Lance could feel Allura starting to panic _. “Hunk told me you found out around 10 pm which is about 8 hours ago. It’s almost 7 am, Lance, where were you?”_

_“Why would you not believe I was home?”_

_“Because you always get some ‘fresh air’ after encountering any stressful situation and finding out what you just did definitely falls under a stressful situation. So yeah, you weren’t home.”_

_“You scare me sometimes. I was out, I parked and sat in the car for a while before a police officer came and took me home.”_

_“WHAT! A police officer?! Are you okay?”_

_“Yeah. He was nice.”_ He proceeded to talk about Coran and how nice he was to him and about the meal he bought him to distract him from everything.

He realised what she was doing about 30 minutes in after he started yawning.

_“You are good.”_

_“Sleep well, McClain.”_ He could see her smiling.

_“Thanks, McClain. Love you.”_

_“Love you too.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning on the story going from Shiro to Lance's POV but i just found myself writing in Lance's again. Hopefully we'll see how Shiro is doing in the next chapter.


	5. Shiro's Misery

Shiro moved to follow Lance when a hand on his shoulders stopped him, Keith pulled him inside and closed the door.

“I know that whatever I say now, to not get to follow him, might make you hate me more than you probably already do.” Keith’s voice was low and full of sorrow. “But believe me when I tell you that your sadness is killing me right now. We are so close, Shiro. So close.”

Shiro didn’t look at Keith as he pushed pass him towards his room and closed the door and locked it. He stumbled towards his bed and lay there with his face squished in the pillow. He took a breath he didn’t know he was holding and felt tears wetting the pillow against his face.

He will never get the image of the betrayal on Lance’s face out of his mind, ever. He knew Keith was right; they were so close to getting custody of Darren. Alfor made sure to get people that knew them for years, especially older people including the idiots that ran the shelter, to testify on their closeness to increase their credibility for the jury. It was honestly going great but right now, Shiro felt like he lost everything. This heartbreak was the worst feeling he could ever feel and he knew that if they lost the case, he wouldn’t survive this.

He looked at his clock. **1:00 AM** and hoped with all his being that Lance was okay and safe. He knew he wouldn’t have went back home right now, no, he would need some fresh air to cool down first. He thought about the last normal conversation he had with Lance face to face the week before.

_“Why?” Lance looked at Shiro like he was grew another head. “Why do you think I need therapy?”_

_“Don’t make it seem like I am thinking any less of you, Lance.” Shiro moved forward to take Lance unto his lap, he set him down so that his back was leaning against Shiro’s chest and wrapped his arms around him. “I just think that you will personally feel so much better if you had professional help.”_

_“For what though?” Lance exclaimed._

_“Baby, I know you’ve been doing better in terms of everything, but you still get those low episodes and I am kind of worried about you.”_

_Lance went silent for a few minutes. He needed to phrase this in a delicate way to reflect his truly harmless intentions behind him bringing this up now. Lance was really doing better on the normal daily bases but the frequency of his episodes was concerning._

_“I love you, Lance, and I hate seeing you sad and in pain. So think about it, wouldn’t it be better to actually go and do something to fix this for good?”_

_“I just feel like… it’s not that bad. Someone might want that appointment more than me.”_

_“How about you think of yourself first? Be selfish for once. Man, you are too good for this world, you know that?”_

_Lance turned around and looked up at Shiro smiling warmly and Shiro thought:_ This is it; this is where I want to stay, by his side forever. _Lance’s smile was infectious and Shiro could feel faint traces of a smile on his lips as Lance pulled himself up and kissed Shiro’s lips deeply and went back to his previous position with his back to Shiro._

_It was a normal Saturday afternoon; most couples would go out and enjoy the day. But not them, no, they stayed indoors and spent the day glued to each other. They had exams the following week which meant they won’t see each other till the next weekend and considering his schedule between the meetings with his and Keith’s lawyer and his actual exams, he was in for a rough week._

_The soft volume from the TV could be lightly heard as neither of them was paying any attention to the documentary playing in the background. They savoured these moments of domesticity as much as possible with the upcoming year being Lance’s clinical training and all._

_“Fine.” Lance broke the silence after a few minutes_

_“What?” Shiro questioned._

_“Will you book it though? I would back out or not know what to say.” Lance said, looking at their intertwined fingers that were resting on his lap over the blanket._

_“Are you mad at me?”_

_“I am not; I just don’t want to disappoint you.”_

_Shiro didn’t reply to that. He wanted to say that he would never be disappointed in Lance because he wanted to get better and that was worth so much in Shiro’s book but he wanted Lance to get help, to get better, so if he was doing this for Shiro then he would let him._

_Lance wasn’t necessarily bad. But Shiro didn’t want to take any chances with these intrusive thoughts he always seemed to have. It would take a lot of late night talks and cuddles for Lance to remotely believe Shiro when he tells him that these thoughts are wrong on especially bad days and that he was not defined by them, not even remotely. They were merely the accumulation of bad memories and experiences that he went through._

That night was engraved now in Shiro’s memory as the last time they were ever fine. He knew there was not no going back from this, not entirely that is.

He lay there for a while before his phone rang, he didn’t even look at the caller ID before he declined the call. He only answered after the caller had called about 4 times after that.

“It’s almost 3 in the morning.”

“What the actual fuck is wrong with you, Shirogane? Cheating on LANCE! Lance of all people. The guy you called ME at fucking 2 am to gush over. The guy you’ve been pining over FOR MONTHS before you had the fucking courage to do something about?”

“PIDGE! You don’t understand, okay. I can’t explain it but believe me when I tell you that I do love Lance. That everything I said before was true and still is true.”

“I was offended that neither of you called me after you ‘tied the knot’.” Saying the phrase in a way that made Shiro assume she was using air quotations even though this was a phone call. “So I called Hunk and he knew something fishy was going on because Lance couldn’t keep something from Hunk to save his life.”

Shiro’s hands were shaking while listening to Pidge. He started to feel guiltier by the minute. Pidge and Lance met because of Shiro, she did know Keith but only by name from when he talked about his past the very few times he actually opened up to her and Matt when he used to live with them.

“Pidge… please. Stop.”

And maybe it was the utter hopelessness in his voice or the defeated sigh he sounded but Pidge didn’t press on him after that.

“Look. I don’t know your story is or what happened to you, but know this, Lance is a good guy and you should’ve thought about his feelings. Hunk and I knew about the post days ago we were just waiting for you and Lance to tell us first. And when you didn’t we got suspicious and scrolled through the comments to find out it was some guy called _Keith Kogane_.”

That made sense.

“Try to make it up to him, and Shiro you have to try hard. You will also need all the help you can get.” Pidge sighed. “But you need to figure out your situation first. If you are going through something, don’t drag Lance into it.”

That was exactly what Shiro wanted, but failed, to do.

“I have to go now. Call Hunk, he might help.” And she hung up.

Shiro stared at the ceiling for hours. The sun shone through the windows, bird chirping indicating a new morning. He looked at his clock, this time showing **6:35 AM**. It was almost 7 am. He would usually call Lance at this hour to get breakfast, to start the day together. He stood and walked out of his room, he didn’t want to be alone. Keith was standing at the counter of the kitchen, making coffee.

“H… Hey” God, he hated how his voice sounded. “I am so sorry I am such a mess and I am so sorry I was your only option to getting Darren’s custody and, God, I couldn’t even tell the truth to the man I love, how the hell am I supposed to help you and-“

“Hey! Shiro breathe for me.” Keith suddenly materialised in front of him, with both his hands holding Shiro’s shoulder tightly trying to keep his attention. “You are a good man. What you are doing with me will save Darren’s life. And I promise you I will help you make it up to Lance and help you make him believe you. I will always be there for you and don’t ever, ever say a bad word about yourself in front of me, okay?”

Shiro’s knees wobbled as he fell to the floor; he couldn’t carry his own weight anymore and he knew Keith would never judge him, not for showing weakness. He was tired from everything.

So for the first time in his life, he let go and cried in front of someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda took too long with this chapter cz i am transferring universities and S6 dropped and holy shit okay, holy shit.  
> feel free to send an Ask @no-i-didnt-notice-im-short


	6. Two Weeks Later

It’s been about two weeks, not that Lance was counting or anything, since the big… Breakup? Confrontation? The Big Fiasco.

He didn’t attend his classes the first two days, wanting to spend some time alone, crying. He barely ate, barely got out of bed. If it wasn’t at arm’s reach, it wasn’t worth it. He hadn’t had a shower the entire time he was in bed, not that anyone would be close to him any time soon… not that he had anyone to share his bed with anymore.

He applied for online classes to not miss any more of his studies, because no matter what was going on in his life, he was not giving up on what he worked for. He was going to prove everyone that they were wrong about him. That he was smart and what he went through was real. Lance McClain was going to change their perspective. He needed to.

_Huh… Allura really rubbed off on him_. He thought to himself with a smile just as a there was a bang on his door followed by some musically rhythmic knocks. _She came. Fuck he was screwed… but also… damn the timing was impeccable._

“You seriously didn’t have to come all the way to the States.”

Allura and all her beauty were standing outside his apartment wearing a beautiful brown jacket with skin-tight jeans and boots. The weather was cold but not as cold as she makes it out to be. She had an aesthetic to maintain. She was holding two coffee cups, a brown bag that smelled vaguely of chocolate and a travel bag trailing behind her. She was probably fresh off the plane from about two hours ago, though you could never tell due to her unbelievably perfect hair and makeup.

“I love you, Leandro, but not everything is about you. I am partially here for you.” She said as she went into his house not even waiting for an invitation or for Lance to say anything.

“Yes, everything is right now so… _ouch_.” He took her bag, which she left for him to get anyways, and closed the door following her inside. She made herself comfortable on his couch, after clearing the clothes that were thrown there for the past few days. The house smelled disgusting though she didn’t make any comments, he appreciated that.

He got two plates and set them on the table between while she opened the bag and took out two freshly baked chocolate cupcakes and placed each on a plate. She must’ve gotten them from the coffee shop next to his house, the one he always met Shiro at before their classes.

He stared at the baked goods infront of him. It did smell good but for some reason it didn’t look too appetizing now that he had to physically eat it. He decided to take a sip from his mint flavoured concoction that was his coffee.

“I know why you are here.” He gave Allura his full attention.

“Dad filled you in already?” Her eyes wide, slightly hurt but excited. She loved to deliver big news.

“Yupp!” He said, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “He told me all about his really cool case.”

Allura’s father was a hotshot badass lawyer. He worked mostly pro-bono cases for those who can’t afford a lawyer; whoever was wronged by the system due to any form of discrimination against their sexual orientation, race, religion or financial holding.

If Medicine hadn’t worked out, he would’ve walked in his uncle’s footsteps.

This case was the highlight to of his uncle’s career. He talked about it constantly, which isn’t saying much considering he didn’t disclose a single piece of information that is truly relevant to the case for confidential reasons. He told them that it was an adoption case. He didn’t think that was worth all the hype, but according to his uncle it was a very sensitive and serious case. That it was going to save someone’s life.

Lance read about kids in the foster care system. The abuse and hardships they had to go through so he assumed that was the case. From what he was able to gather though is that the kid he was dealing with was a trouble magnet. He was being adopted by a gay couple, which was a fact they were using as a way to sway the jury. But that’s it.

His uncle says there is way more to it and he promised him to read more about it when the case was settled, which will be in the next month. The hearings and the case presentations keep getting postponed by the DA’s office.

“I can’t wait to read the case.” Lance informed Allura after a few seconds.

“Same! Maybe I could use it in my paper on the foster care system for my Human Rights class!”

“I could use it for my Psychology class!”

They talked for a few hours, distracting Lance from his mind. He knew what she was doing and he highly appreciated it. He was also glad she didn’t bring up Shiro at all. It’s like he didn’t exist, he didn’t think he could manage to talk freely about everything yet.

A knock on the door brought the two Cubans out of their topic. He stared at the door for a few seconds before Allura stood up and made her was to open it. As she swung her door he saw a pale looking young man with a horrible mullet and a red jacket. He recognized him as Keith.

“Hello there!”

“Um... Hi.” Keith’s shaky voice completely contrasting Allura’s firm cheery one. “I was wondering if I could talk to Lance for a minute.”

“No.”

Allura stared at him, taken back. He was not going to talk his ex’s new fiancé. He was trying to do better for himself and even without completing his studies, he knows this will be a step back.

“I know you probably hate me, but please. This is important. I need to explain.”

“I don’t care. Leave my apartment; I don’t want to see neither you, nor Taka… Shiro, ever again.”

Allura seemed to understand who was at the door now.

“If you don’t leave this very second, I promise you I will call the police and a very good lawyer that will have you arrested for trespassing.”

Her cold eyes stared Keith down. He opened his mouth to say something before seemingly changing his mind and backtracking. His violet eyes looked back at Lance then at Allura.

“There is way more into play here, Lance. Shiro loves you.” And left with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God i am so sorry for the lack of updates... i moved universities this summer and i finally settled in.


	7. Moving on?

_More into play?_

Lance stared at the door. Hope and happiness fleeting from him, burying him under mountains of hopelessness and sorrow; he felt like it was physically impossible for him to breath. Did he really deserve all of this? What did he do that warranted the universe to make him feel worse than absolute shit?

_Shiro Loves you._

No. he didn’t. Like hell he does. No excuse could give Shiro the right to do this to him. All he ever did was trust him. Time and time again.

 _“Leandro…”_ Allura started.

“I’m fine.”

He went back to the couch and all but collapsed down. Allura sat next to him with her arm around his shoulders, radiating sympathy and love.

“If I knew who that was I wouldn’t have opened the door.”

Lance nodded because that’s all he seemed to be able to do at that moment. He didn’t trust is voice, thoughts or himself to be okay. His mind wandered to Shiro. To Keith. To Shiro and Keith. Together.

“Don’t think about them. You did nothing wrong and you don’t deserve this.” Allura grasped the lateral side both his shoulders, forcing Lance to look her in the eye. “I don’t care what he said nor what he meant. You are getting better… you will move on from this and you will become the greatest doctor to have ever lived!”

“What about Dr. Shepard?”

“Shit you’re right! Nobody beats Dr. McDreamy!”

He smiled a watery smile and decided to play the part. They spent the better half for the night reminiscing about Grey’s anatomy before they decided to call it a night.

“ _You will tell me if you need something, right?”_ Worry lines etched on her perfect brown skin.

“ _Si_. Go before _Tio_ gets worried.” He playfully pushed her out the door, closing it after giving her a kiss on the cheek and bidding her goodnight. He walked back to his room and started cleaning up their crime scene. Wrappers and empty cans littered the floor around his couch and table.

He slowly made his way behind the couch. He hated the sight and hated himself for lying. There were piles upon piles of thrown open candy bars and chocolates. Lance picked them up with shaky hands and deposited them in the trashcan.

He was losing a grip on himself and he knew It. He hadn’t had a single bite of any of the food Allura brought home with her from England. He drank his coffee and water to keep the act, that there was nothing suspicious going on as to not worry Allura. But the truth is: He hadn’t had a full meal in a week and a half. He physically couldn’t stomach it. The smell made him gag and it just didn’t seem worth it to try.

After about fifteen minutes of house work, Lance was panting and sweating. He was so exhausted, mentally and physically. So he tried to lie down and attempt… _sleep_.

He really did, but sleep wasn’t an option, not anytime soon, not after what Keith had just said.

He knew what he was doing was unhealthy. He barely slept, didn’t eat and only left the house when he was really supposed to. The problem was: **He just didn’t care.**

* * *

He woke up the next morning after a very long restless night of tossing and turning. His head was pounding and he was even more tired than before he went to bed. He looked at the digital clock at his bed side which read **7:45 am** , Lance could swear it was mocking him, like it knew he was so late and that he was probably going to get a warning this time.

The Cuban crawled out of bed and went to his closet to get changed into his scrubs, moved to the bathroom to pee and wash his face without looking at his face in the mirror – he didn’t need that horror show first thing in the morning – and hurried out of the door by 8:05 am. He was definitely late and he was definitely screwed.

Lance had started his intern year the week before and he was getting gradually better at his job with time after losing the initial shock of how he was actually practicing medicine. Getting to apply everything he had learned as well as talk to real patients and see thing first hand was too intense and needed time to be processed, but he was trying to get over it quickly to succeed.

He wanted to become a psychiatrist, eventually, though Lance decided to enjoy a few years practicing practical medicine before he gets to the part he has been working for this entire time.

After signing the check in sheet and establishing his presence, he went to look for Dr. Plaxum. She was his attending for the week, handling Pediatrics, and he was supposed to do anything she asked of him, no matter what.

The best thing about Dr. Plaxum? She understood the need for practice. Lance wasn’t here to be an observer; he had enough of that in medical school and their clinical rotations. This was intern year; he was to completely immerse himself in hands-on work and practice.

“So I gather you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”

Dr. Plaxum skated to his side and stopped by the nurse’s station Lance was leaning against. She, along with a handful of doctors at this hospital, held up the stellar reputation of this institution as well as never losing her funky edge with her patients, who were kids after all. Her form was always skating around the halls of her wing, bringing a smile to any kid or staff member that just so happen to witness her skating in front of them.

“I’m fine.” Lance smiled at Dr. Plaxum and handed her the chart of their patient. “I just didn’t have my coffee yet.”

“How about we go have breakfast?” She said innocently. He knew she didn’t know anything about him personally. This was just her trying to be nice.

“It’s okay. I’ll get some food after we see our patient.”

“You know that’s what I like to hear, but are you sure?” he hated seeing her worry directed at him. It made him feel weak and pitied.

“Yup!” he said, popping the ‘p’. He knew she appreciated active responses and upbeat attitudes. It was how she rolls, pun intended. “Let’s see, Jason.”

He briefed her about their patient, Jason, and his history, his latest surgeries and his upcoming ones as well as the symptoms he was presented with. It all took about 20 minutes before they left the room to move on to the next.

The day was going fine. He looked at the watch on the wall of the corridor he was walking, reading **11:48 am**. _Still? How long is this day!_ His headache was doubling fast and he was getting slightly lightheaded with each step so he decided to go to the bathroom to wash his face.

As he was getting to the bathroom, black spots plagued his vision. He widened his eyes and moved to hold on to something. He barely got to lean against the wall before he collapsed on the floor and saw no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so i am going through something and i am just so sorry it took so long. I got some motivation to write last night and i edited some of it and decided to post. I am sorry if its crap or short. I am Lance right now :)
> 
> I really someone catches which Grey's Anatomy i made Dr. Plaxum act like. Also i am in the medical field and i will have fun with writing some of my clinical incidents here xD
> 
> Don't forget to comment :) (and Kudos if you haven't already)


	8. You ready? No.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the lack of updates.

The last three weeks have been was too hectic for his liking, and he knew it was somewhat selfish, but he was glad he didn’t have a moment to think clearly about anything. Not a single second to spare to remind himself that he may be saving a life here but he absolutely fucked his own. Lance was never going to forgive him.

“You ready?” Keith’s eyes held a spark for the anticipation. They were sitting opposite each other in a Starbucks close to Shiro’s apartment. His and Keith’s simple acts of domesticity fills Shiro with guilt beyond measure, it wasn’t long ago that he would be sitting at this very table with Lance, laughing at medical misconceptions they found on Instagram on their discover page. It was their favourite past time activity and by far not their weirdest.

But now, definitely never to happen again.

“Yeah.” He said absentmindedly.

“This will all be over soon. Darren will be ours and safe, you can explain everything to Lance and things can try to go back to normal.” His cheerful tone brought his consciousness back to earth. Keith was trying to be optimistic for Shiro. He fruitless efforts never ceasing despite the lack of enthusiasm Shiro has been rewarding him with “Did you hear anything from Alfor?”

“Darren is still with that family…”

And, oh, how he hated the Johnsons. The last time they saw Dar, he was too quiet; not even Keith’s gentle coaxing could bring him out of his shell which was usually the case. It terrified them. Shiro took Darren to the side to talk to him privately but Mr. Johnson had his hand on his shoulder like a warning not to say anything they didn’t agree to. A distressing situation they wouldn’t have caught if it wasn’t for the ten other times it happened with the previous foster parents.

A heavy silence fell over the two males. Horrible scenarios flashed before their minds, each worse than the one before. What was it going to be this time? A broken arm? A broken rib? A bruised stomach? God, what did a child do to deserve the cruelty he has been shown so far in his short life?

“And?”

“And nothing. We can’t do anything unless we have proof like every other time. We just have to wait.”  _till he gets hurt again._  went unsaid. Moments like this dragged the knife of hopelessness through them.

“A few more weeks.”

“A few more weeks.”

* * *

 They left the café not long after they realized them pretending everything was fine was doing more harm than good for both of their mentality. They were men of action, after all.

Shiro was half way through his grocery shopping spree, the hefty spree before he started his third residence year next week, when his phone rang.

“Hello?”

_“Takashi Shirogane?”_

“Yes? This is him.” He was already stopping and planning on going to his car before the nurse on the other side even delivered the final blow.

_“I am told to call you instead of the orphanage in case Darren was brought here again, is that true?”_

“What happened? Is he okay?!”

 _“I am so sorry, sir.”_ She was trying to sound calm to counter attack Shiro’s panic. It wasn’t helping. He was a practicing doctor, he knew all the tricks. “ _He was brought in a couple of hours ago and he just got out of surgery.”_

“SURGERY?!” Shiro was trying to get his damn keys in the ignition with his shaky hands. “What happened? Why did he need a fucking surgery?”

“Sir, he is fine. It was a succ-“

“ _It’s Doctor Shirogane.”_ He said firmly, contrasting how broken he was feeling. “ _Tell me what happened. Right. Now.”_

_“Oh… Well Dr. we will give you his full report when you get here, I think It’s better if you read it yourself. There was some internal bleeding and a few bones that needed internal fixtures.”_

“I am on my way.”

He called Keith, which went as badly as he expected, and then called Alfor. He knew that the extent of these injuries could help their case to get Darren away from these monsters.

He got to the hospital in record speed, more than willing to pay the speeding tickets he was probably going to be charged, threw his keys to the hospital valet and bolted to the paediatrics quarters. Finding the nurse’s station and asked for Darren, showing his ID and stating himself as Darren’s emergency contact.

“Well, Dr. Shirogane, Dr. Plaxum will be with you shortly to give you all his details. I’m afraid I can’t allow you to go into the room just yet.”

“The nurse on the phone mentioned that he was out of surgery, can I please read his file? I am a Paediatrics Resident at Galra Hospital.”

“I am sorry, Dr. I can’t do that without Dr. Plaxum’s authorisation.”

He frustratingly banged the desk and stepped back. Can this day legit get any worse?

“Dr. Plaxum has another patient to tend to, it was an emergency and she sends her sincerest apologies, I will be following with Darren from now on.”

Ice cold water filled Shiro’s veins.


	9. Relapse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted two chapters to make up :)

Lance took a day off after the fainting spell, where in the meantime, Allura was called and he didn’t hear the end of it for, his uncle was called and he didn’t hear the end of it and Dr. Plaxum sat him down and gave him a lecture of self-care, thus not hearing the end of it.

He was forced to eat dinner, as he spent lunchtime unconscious, with Allura while she stared at him the whole time like he was some kind of a psych patient.

“It was once, Allura.” He tried to reassure her. “I am fine; I was just under a lot of pressure with so many patients to go around.”

She tilted her platinum head to the side and raised her eyebrow.

_“How stupid do you think I am?”_

_"Dios…"_ Lance muttered. " _I am fine, Allura! I didn’t fucking relapse, okay!”_ That he shouted, earning a few curious turns of heads around the restaurant Allura took him to.

He saw her visibly wince at his tone. Pin drop silence oozed around the usually comfortable duo.

It was a sad truth that follows everyone with a history of this crap. No one sees past it. It defines them in other people’s eyes forcing them to face pity from people that don’t mean any ill will but end up doing more harm than good. It’s just what they have to live through from that defining moment and on, and **you** choose if it affects you or not. And sadly, Lance was not in the mental space where he can usually filter it out.

“I passed out once. I forgot to eat once.”

“But it’s not just ONCE!”

That took him by surprise.

“I noticed that you didn’t eat when we hung out at your house the other day.” She gripped his hand over the table, like she had the ability to absorb all the pain and humiliation Lance was feeling or have ever felt. “You have no ready-food in your fridge or your entire kitchen, no indication you even entered it in the first place. I know you are a clean freak but not to the point where it looks ‘unused’”

Blue eyes widened.

“I do not pity you, _Leandro_ , I care about you.” She gripped tighter. “I know you can get through this. You are not alone, you have me this time.”

**He had Shiro last time.**

“And I would rather die than ever leave you.”

Building up pressure and blurred vision from the saltiness that plagued his eyes was all the warning his body gave him before he broke down. Warmth engulfed him as he sobbed his heart out to all the times he wished someone said this, before Shiro that is; someone with familial connections, who knew him before and after. Allura has always been there for him, but the past few years their friendship flourished even more. 

* * *

After his off day, Dr. Plaxum welcomed him back with a concerned smile, a hug and a few extra cases to keep his adrenaline flowing. They went straight to work by 8 am.

He was patrolling around, having finished the urgent cases, when he was called for an all hands-on-deck kind of situation with an almost 11 year old boy. Apparently he was in critical condition when he was brought in and was a must see surgery, so all interns were allowed to scrub in and watch.

After three hours of swaying around the edge, the kid pulled through. Lance instantly got the feeling that this kid is a fighter, other than the physical presentation of his injuries; he basically came back from the dead right then and there on the operating table.

He was placed in the ICU and under Lance’s care; Dr. Plaxum had an emergency surgery on another floor thus trusting Lance to handle everything. This trust sparked some jealousy from the other interns but even they couldn’t deny Lance talent and quick thinking when it comes to managing the field. He was a force to be trusted and not to be reckoned with.

Lance was doing his routine check-ups with Darren when he got the message that the kid’s emergency contact had arrived, whoever it was apparently wasn't a legal guardian according to what the nurse informed him earlier so Lance has to be careful with what information he shares with them. He felt a hint of resentment at how late they got here, but then again they were probably only informed after he got out of surgery.

“Well, tough guy. I’m going to go outside see who came to you, okay?” He noted down his heart rate, blood pressure and temperature on the report before moving to leave the room. “We shall meet again, grasshopper.”

There is seemingly an type of unattainable strength that a person has to have to deal the sick children. They have this innocence, sometimes lack thereof, that just crushes Lance’s heart and leaves him in shambles at the end of every case. Shiro had that strength, its why he chose Pediatrics, after all. His gentleness yet firm nature basically meant that he was made for this profession.

He closes the door gently and moves to the nurse’s station. His sleep deprived brain was jacked up on too much coffee and Redbull to completely process any non-medical information presented infront of him. Did they really think an exhausted intern was the best person to reassure anyone when he can’t reassure himself that he will get through the day?

The words flow out of him with practiced ease without taking his eyes off the report he was still finishing.

“Dr. Plaxum has another patient to tend to, it was sadly an emergency and sends her sincerest apologies, I will be following with Darren from now on.” He pauses for a calculated amount of time to give the person infront of him the time to process what he just said, even something as insignificant as this, it was common courtesy. “My name is Dr. McClain and I can answer any question you may have about Darren.”

He looked up at the tall man infront of him. He had his back to him, wearing a hoodie, dark jeans and a baseball cap. There was an air of familiarity around him that Lance was too tired to pinpoint.

The stranger’s shoulders stiffened as he turned around slowly, along with it turning Lance’s entire world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am getting back to the flow and i have an ending in mind.

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely based on true events.  
> Kudos and Comments mean so much you guys, it give me the boost to continue writing.  
> \----  
> I will be posting some of the prompts I have written.  
> If anyone would like to send any prompts, comment or send an ask to my tumblr  
> https://no-i-didnt-notice-im-short.tumblr.com/  
> I will try to reply to everything =)


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